Death Among the Stars Quest 53GraveQM!OAW/XsPFOk08/04/16(Thu)21:05:44No.48628714

The world of Calera was heavily polluted, only the most dangerous of areas such as the volcanic ridges that dotted the continent free of the taint of necrotic industry. Gargoyles sailed out to search for locations of interest or possible hide-outs should the boiling valley be compromised.

Diggers bored through volcanic stone, occasionally breaking into old lava tubes or unearthing new wells of boiling water. Stacks of metal ingots were stacked alongside tanks full of necrotic biomass, the first harvests from the catoblepas processed by the frigates Cauldron.

You sat in the bridge looking over a map that was slowly being pieced together by the gargoyles reconnaissance and the testimony of the three human captives still held in the storage closet. Occasionally you glanced through the sight of the gargoyles as you thought over the strange encounter with the enigmatic Masked.

Looking through the large eye of a gargoyle perched in a twisted tree you see a small village spread out in a valley spread around several large mines. A large structure towers over the settlement with several small floating trade barges moored to piers. Distracted by your thoughts you nearly miss a flicker of energy among the outskirts where the gargoyle perched.

Focusing intently the Reconstructed slithers through the branches to get a clear look and there at the metal wall of the city where a drainage pipe dumped sludge into a polluted stream you spot movement. One of the tripodal Natives, hopping off its large blunt foot and swinging on its long arms flees from the pipe toward the trees. There was shouting on the other side of the wall, cries of thief and rebel. Your gargoyle followed the panting creature as it fled into the trees and you could hardly believe your luck.

The native pauses and glances back to stare at the gargoyle with what could possibly be shock on its beaked face. To your sightless gaze its body pulsed with Voidlight curling around it with unrecognized potential.

You are the Voidknight Disciple, a nameless hero of the New Necrotic Armada, far flung from your comrades.

Previously you assessed your surroundings and began mining and construction of a temporary base to resupply. Your prisoners were interrogated and you learned you were on the planet of Calera held under the sway of a powerful necrotic force called the Council.

You were interrupted by a meeting with the enigmatic Masked entity and they gave you a short history lesson on the world before presenting you with a challenge. The Council was in fact a lingering offshoot of the old Necrotic Armada and formed of necromancers that had discovered a fragment of the Wormstars corpse. Using it to fuel their own power they took control and now exist as twisted shapers of flesh and torment, creating a foul city held aloft by the power of the dead gods corpse.

They challenged you to claim the fragment through wit, guile, or force to return to Jadyk and you gladly accepted.

>>48628891Research completed:>Necrotic corrupted human dissection: A lifetime of exposure to necrotic energy and a trip to the Councils floating city caused significant necrotic corruption to infest the human leading to a myriad of diseases and cancers that had taken hold inside him. >Cave Worm: A simple organism that dwells on the edges and near boiling pools of geysers it constructs a hollow tube shell of organic matter it uses to trap the chemical heavy water to feed the cultures of symbiotic bacteria living inside the tube.>Bacterial mats: Simple but fast replicating bacteria that chemosynthesize off the mineral rich waters of the boiling geysers and pools they form thick glowing mats.

Unlocked:Cave Worm Farm: By tweaking the genetics of the cave worm and the bacteria it fed on the Think Tank creates a small biomass farm suited to the volcanic environment. Requiring a source of volcanic spring water this farm uses vertical shelves packed full of the modified caveworm. As the water pours over the worms they feed the symbiotic bacteria allowing the worm to grow their hollow shells much more rapidly. Harvesters merely need to trim the straw like tubes of chitin and wait for the worms to regrow their shells by the next day. Cost: 25B 15M Produces 30B daily

>>48629110As your gargoyles continued to scour the countryside one of them watches as the void touched native flees from humans chasing after it on crude two wheeled devices that roared and belched out clouds of black smoke. It was clear they were going to catch them and sure enough they trap it in a clearing. One of the humans riding in a side pod of one of the vehicles tosses out a net over the native and it tangles in their limbs despite their desperate attempts to escape. Dragging the native behind them they return cheering and hooting to the city as the gargoyle follows.

Hiding among the rooftops of the mining village the gargoyle watches them drag the native to the center of town and toss it into a large cage at the base of the piertower. Inside there was a handful of other natives along with humans and vorh, each looking terrified but broken as they were guarded by armored soldiers with swords and rifles.

The reconstructed changes its skin to match the dark slate roofs as it slithered closer to the captives and peers down on a pair of guards talking by a small firepit a kettle boiled over. They spoke of the foolishness of the escapee saying the Countess always took her offering of flesh. A war barge was due within a few days for the captives and the shipment of ore from the mines.

The void-touched natives sits sullenly in a corner, its hand tugging and working at a corner of the metal mesh until a passing guard kicks at him. You could almost sense the indignant anger at the human as the natives curls up into a ball and looks around suspiciously.

>>48629378As you started to plot you were alerted by a rather surprised gargoyle in a distant mountain range. The gargoyle had attempted to cross a densely forested valley between jagged peaks capped in snow. Sailing over the forest that suddenly fell away the gargoyle swooped in to discover a strange sight. Perhaps once an ancient sinkhole or cave-in had revealed a massive cave-system and the forest had grown inside it over the ages.

The gargoyle explored the large cavern with mists filling the air from a series of waterfalls that fed a large river free of necrotic taint. Trees and plants grew healthy and large, free of the pollutants that corrupted much of the planets ecosystems. Small herds of tripodal creatures roamed the forests grazing on leaves and thick grasses.

Yet what caused your gargoyle to reach out to you was its discovery of another village. Smaller than the mining town it sat nestled against the wall of the large cavern with huts built against the stone or dug into patches of dirt. Humans, vorh and natives seemed to live in peace in the hidden village. There was little to no Necrotic forged equipment beyond ancient looking guns in the hands of hunters returning with game from the cavern forest and a derelict barge overgrown with vines and plants turned into a central building.

>>48629982I'd be kind of reluctant to start building nails and coffins here. This is supposed to be a quick, stealthy smash and grab type of operation, not a continued occupation. We'll be leaving this planet as soon as we can get our hands on the wormstar.

>>48629994Which is why we should avoid introducing ourselves to the hidden village just yet. We can't afford to leave any evidence of our actions on this world when we leave it.

Did we want to, catch and consume the population for a faster hit and run approach or do we want to go stealthy taking what we need until we strike

Or did we want to go full liberator, uniting the living under Jaydk arming the locals and using them as a shield to deflect the councils attention before we sneak up behind them and rip out their heart so they have to fight an uprising and chase us

>>48630120I want none of these. I want a quick and stealthy operation to steal the fragment of the wormstar so we can return to Jadyk ASAP to hand it over to him.

I do not want to waste anymore time than we have to here, and I would rather wait until we can marshall the Necrotic Armada before attempting any sort of hostile takeover. We don't even know where the Council would stand once Jadyk makes himself known, for all we know we could be blowing up the last of his fellow necromancers. Even if they have fallen from the ways of the Wormstar, it should fall to Jadyk to deal with them and decide their punishment, not an anonymous void disciple.

>>48630163According to the masked it took the council centuries to track down the current location of the shard and draw the last fragments of the armada there. And even if they somehow could figure out where HD is, what are they going to do about it? The New Necrotic Armada is massively stronger than them, they'd get slaughtered.

>>48630284>ConquerDude, we're one single void disciple with a cauldron and a ship. Are you seriously saying we should forget about returning to Jadyk and create our own little empire here? If we want to do any serious damage we will need the Armada at our backs.

And you also assume that they can track us in FTL transit outside of this system in our super powered void drive, which is ridiculous.

>>48630359That all you got out of that post? let me put it in a way you will understand, Fuck up enough of their shit on the planet, starting rebellions making the planets core unstable, or various other methods of making it too inconvienient to follow us when we leave.

>>48630359I could argue that this plane is a prime example of all the Jaydk is against this is stagnation and pointless suffering.

If we could liberate it for the armada the Voidknight doesn't need to sit around and rule but a strong point from wich to launch is better then diving forward into the unknown with an enemy giving chase, one mind you we have no idea how strong or far flung the may be.

The people here are patrons if the duchess, this is a space faring empire wich is ruled by a council who knows how many worlds are ruled by each council member and while the individuals may be turned against one another I bet they stand united when it comes to recovering the shard

>>48631185Yeah, either we use them as native heavy weapons teams, or keep them in reserve for if our forces encounter heavy resistance. Maybe deploy two with our initial wave, and keep one in reserve as a quick response unit. Explosions if necessary, we may want to come back and reclaim the mine.

>>48631012So the plan is as follows.>Create Looms>Create 1 Coffin 3 Chariots (Coffin can carry and deploy Chariots)>Looms sneak in at night to cause distractions and free native>Chariots provide cover against pursuit while Coffin picks up native and any other captives brought along

How many Looms would you like to make for this operation? The Coffin can carry and deploy up to 20 troops at a time

I'm ashamed I completely forgot about our other stealth unit, the Shadow

>Shadow: A stealthy and fast creation, the Shadows rely on their advanced jump-packs to leap from ship to ship in boarding actions or to move silently and quickly on planet. With their advanced camoflage they prefer to lay in wait then following their targets or to sneak undetected into the midst of fortified positions. Their metal-sheathed bones allow for deployment in high-gravity areas. They come with a cluster stingwhip and neurotoxin venomgland as a base but can equip other weapons easily. Cost 9B 12M

>>48631415I kinda just want to see this situation, Dawn is approaching Over half of the garrison has stopped reporting in, And the only contact to command has been severed, What is that slithering sound?

>>48631604Looms can fly right? how long would it take them to get there on foot? My plan is this, we use looms and shadows to quietly take the village with no survivors then Bury looms in areas that would be hard to see, and Just Disappear residents.

Jaydk: I told you to come back as fast and stealthily as possible, yet you some how managed to conquer a planet cripple an empire overthrow a necromancers enclave and collapse several suns while reclaiming a shard of the worm star.... Care to, explain how that came about?

The Reconstructed worked tirelessly through the night, the newly formed Shadows and Looms helping with the construction of the Coffin and the Chariots. To save on space the Loom and Shadows pair up, the pliant bodies of the Abductor Squids forming themselves to the backs of the Shadows and ready themselves to depart. Stingers seat themselves in the Chariots side-cars and the gun turrets before they latch onto the underbelly of the Coffin hovering over them.

Roll me 3d100 best of first three for traveling to the village, deploying troops and setting up the distraction.

I do plan to stay up slightly later than normal but I can't stay up all night because of a job interview later in the afternoon tomorrow

>>48632057https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpHNlx0pPIUAt your command the Coffin takes off and leaves the caverns and the steam covered canyons. They stay low to the ground, hoping to avoid any patrols or the simple radar systems the Councils forces used. Crossing over fields of half-hardened lava and pockets of hot springs the land starts to give way to hills and valleys covered in trees.

To your relief the Coffin seemed to remain undetected as it neared the village as evening fell. Skimming over the tops of the trees the Coffin drops into small clears to drop off the chariots one by one and the vehicles quietly move to hide themselves and wait in the darkness of the alien trees. Finding its own small clearing close enough to see the lights illuminating the tall tower pier through the trees as it sets down.

Looms and Shadows slip silently from the craft as it goes dormant, the Pilot ready to launch at any moment. Their chromatic shifting flesh ripples with dark bands of black and dark blue as the stealthy Reconstructed float and leap with hardly a sound through the trees, void twisted light trailing the Shadows the only indicator of their passing.

The gargoyle watches from the villages wall as the Looms and Shadows reach it. Several of the squid-like Reconstructed slithering through the same pipe the native had escaped while the Shadows leap up the wall to land by the small Reconstructed. Taking off into the air the Gargoyles flies above the village to watch for any patrols as the other undead stalk through the streets unseen.

Shadows leap and float from roof-top to roof-top as Abductor Squid glide through back alleys. Several have of the soft-bodied squids press themselves firmly against the side of a building and their flesh ripples to the same dark color of the stone as a patrol of guards walk unknowingly below them.

>>48632927The Looms and Shadows hide themselves in alleys and on roof-tops surrounding the area around the base of the tower where the villages barracks were stationed. A trio of Shadows pick their way through the village to the furthest of the mine entrances guided by the gargoyle and you were impressed and relieved by their skill. The mine was a large pit carved into the side of a hill with tunnels leading into the earth. Equipment lined the area waiting either to be rolled down the tracks into the mines or to be repaired.

One of the few guards patrolling the area walks between large mining machines hiding his yawn behind a hand as he swept his flashlight from side to side. They look up in surprise when they hear a faint scuffing and frown when they thought they saw something in the light of the twin moons. Shaking his head he mumbles a local curse and continues his patrol, never noticing the black silhouette that had been standing mere inches behind him with claws glinting as they flexed.

One of the Shadows slips through an open window of a building set off by itself from the other buildings and machinery and they easily discover why when they pry open one of the crates stacked inside. Explosives for mining were wrapped and stored in protective casings but the Shadow quickly rip open several of their casings to spread the thick powder through the building before wriggling out of the window once more.

The Reconstructed hidden throughout the village tense as a Shadow lobs an incendiary grenade into the open window before leaping away on great bounds with the other Shadows. Night becomes day for a brief moment as the potent explosives detonate and the gargoyles looks across the village to the inferno that rises, rumbling with more explosions.

Roll me 3d100 best of first 3 for breaking out and extracting the captives

>>48632942As the explosions rumble through the village lights turn on in buildings and people lean out of windows to stare at the growing pillar of smoke and flames. Vorh and native slaves peek out of holes and doorways before ducking back inside as soldiers rush from the barracks, some only half-dressed as they rush to assist the blaze.

Shadows and Looms drop down and rush across the courtyard to the large cage. Those inside were too distracted by the distant flames to notice at first but as a pair of Shadows dig their claws into the seam of the metal mesh by the door and start to pry it open a human looks over at the groaning of metal and lets out a shout of alarm. The other captives turn and start to recoil from the almost completely black silhouettes prying open their cage until one of the Shadow's flesh ripples in color until it resembled a bulkier Talon and it croaks out in the locals language, "Silence! Be silent and you shall have freedom!" it says in a hushed voice.

Looms float around the group, their large eyes scanning the area for guards but still a soldier rounds the corner with a rifle in his hands and freezes at the sight of the undead prying open the cage walls. He opens he mouth to shout but only a gurgle escaped as he clutches at the sting whip lodged in his throat only to spin and fall with a spurt of blood as the Loom retracts its barbs and whip. The captives let out small whimpers at the sight but the Shadow waves a hand at them when the opening was worked open enough, "Quickly now, come with us if you wish to live," they say.

>>48633572Almost unsurprisingly the first to step forward was the void-touched native who hops through the opening and is quickly followed by a handful of others. There was another gurgling of blood as a pair of Looms stab their barbs into another encroaching soldier and drop him to the floor. As Shadows guided the small group of captives with the help of the Gargoyle sailing above the Looms kept watch.

A door swung open as they rushed down an alley and a human wearing a simple jumpsuit steps out in the path of the escapees and their rescuers. They barely let out a shout before a Shadow rushes them, one hand clamping over their mouth as the other buries their knife like talons into their chest driving them against the wall where they struggle before going limp. There was a few cries and whimpers from the former captives but the Shadows urge them forward as the unfortunate human was laid down carefully.

A group of the captives that stayed behind hissed that they were staying, not trusting the undead. A Shadow steps up to the cage with one of the rifles of the dead soldiers and opens fire into the screaming group. There were more shouts at the gunfire as another Shadow rushed in and grabbed one of the bleeding vorh and pressed one of the soldiers knives into the grasp. The vorh coughs up their dark green blood as they feebly swung at the undead as they're dragged to the soldiers corpse and made to plunge the blade into the wound made from a Looms barb before a bullet was placed in their skull. Leaving behind no witnesses the Shadows leap into air and over a rooftop as soldiers began to appear and start shouting about a prisoner escape.

>>48633587Reaching the wall and the drainage pipe the Shadows urge the escapees through, the void-touched the first to crawl through the muck. They fall from the pipe on the other end as Shadows land without a sound after leaping the wall. They gather the captives they'd managed to convince to join them and hurry them through the forest as the sound of rumbling engines reach them.

From the gates of the village the same two-wheeled vehicles race down the road then into the forest. In the darkness of the woods they don't notice the Chariots racing through the trees just behind them. Sting whips in the arms of the Stings leap out, plucking drivers and riders from their seats and send them tumbling into broken heaps as their vehicles careen and crash into trees or ditches.

The Coffin was charged and waiting with bay doors open as the undead hurry the freed captives inside while ignoring their questions. More of the vehicles were being revved to life as the Gargoyle watches from its perch on the village wall but it swings its eye to watch as the Coffin lifts off over the trees and races away with the three chariots strapped to its underside safely.

Now here's the real question how do we handle this as the Voidknight. Do we want to shard them and use them to learn more and find say more villages etc or do we keep the void one render the rest down in the cauldron which is a short term boon but may have problems later down the road

I really feel like we should try to liberate these people they are trapped in a cycle of entropy and Jaydks lessons have been to encompass change and if these 3 limbed natives are adept void singers this world could be of great use in future

>>48633800I think we should also go visit that village in the cave forest. They seem like they were refugees from the Council as well. Might be getting ahead of myself but maybe we can stage our revolution from there and set that up as the base of Jadyk's cult on this world. We can't just keep people in the storage closet forever

>>48633587>A Shadow steps up to the cage with one of the rifles of the dead soldiers and opens fire into the screaming group. There were more shouts at the gunfire as another Shadow rushed in and grabbed one of the bleeding vorh and pressed one of the soldiers knives into the grasp. The vorh coughs up their dark green blood as they feebly swung at the undead as they're dragged to the soldiers corpse and made to plunge the blade into the wound made from a Looms barb before a bullet was placed in their skull.

>>48634013Started reading ghoul quest I really like it, I can really picture the city the details are really riveting but I so agree it feels lie it has less of a clear objective like dats has, but it's a different play of a similar game so can't really be compared directly

>>48634698Jadyk has come to realize that the goals of the Wormstar and the Undying Court lead to the living uniting against them causing the old Grand Necrotic Armada to crumble.

He's come to believe that life is essential to the universe and that from life comes chaos and change. The Masked called him an agent of "Change" and he's subconsciously picked up on that role, knowing his new Necrotic Armada will change the Galaxy.

>>48634782After Jadyk's original warning he's purposely reserving himself from giving into his bloodlust and moving cautiously. He is generally more reserved than Lorgul falling almost more in line withe the calm determination of Dominator Valresko.

>>48634949>>48634972Jaw is a female human turned ghoul. Ghouls resemble Fallout feral ghouls, being bald with gray or pale skin but with vibrant red on their forearms, feet, lips, chin and throat (giving the tribe it's name of Red Throat). The Enlightened ghouls eyes glow red while the ferals are gray and zombie lookin. Bone talons grow from their fingertips and toes and their jaws are slightly longer than a humans similar to a chimp or the like with teeth and gums that are black. Pic related is the closest thing to the ghouls I've got when I requested it in a Drawthread waaaaay back.

Jaw wears leather armor bolstered by plates of chitin and chainmail while using a shortsword and shield. The jaw of the master she wore around her neck like you drew but she had it remade with other beastly jaw bones into a crown with the teeth lowering over her brow.

>>48645507that would mean in a pinch we could detonate the engine to deny it to the enemy, not to mention it would also cause damage to its surroundings.

We should work out a check list of steps to take.

I was thinking it should go something like this 1 setup basic income of metal and meat. 2 make dreamstone obelisk, leave it by Hidden Villiage to show them visions of our capital and the dead and living working as one while hinting at Jadyk. But then also show the contrast of the memories of the councils capital city.

I also want to see how the Duchess reacts to the missing tribute before we do it again with another village. If she brings her retribution and attacks the village, we can use that by stealing/denying other tributes.